In this well-written and user-friendly companion guide to the life of David, Benjamin Johnson digs deep into the moral complexities of one of society’s most beloved characters, pursuing the question of what it means for David to be a man “after God’s own heart.” David is a symbol of human complexity and moral ambiguity, and in his study, a fundamental question arises: what is learned of God’s heart if David represents it? To help answer this question, each chapter opens with an invitation to read the Biblical account and at the close of the chapters, there are three or four helpful questions provided to stimulate reflection or group discussion.  Each chapter addresses the narrative of David as provided in chronological order within scripture. This book is ideal for individual or group study as it provides key commentary on David’s narrative while also leaving enough space to the reader to dive deeper through the provided questions. Ultimately the author unwinds the moral complexities by seeing David as one who has a heart that knows when to repent. David is “no saint. Rather his heart is oriented toward God’s heart and it is capable of being reoriented toward God’s heart when it goes astray” (101).

David’s life is not for the faint of heart. In this work, the most painful moments of David’s life are addressed, especially the rape of Bathsheba and the death of David’s first born. David put himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and his life is filled with moments in which the reader is left seeing oneself in the story. In addition, the book provides helpful insights about Hebrew literature, keys into the Samuel narrative, and fully reveals the lack of tidy solutions in the David story. David’s journey leaves readers wondering if David is a hero or simply a tragedy but his story remains etched into the hearts of society because David provides us with a “fully human, four-dimensionally recognizable” character (160).

Rob Musick, Pikeville, Ky.